Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood (캐시 우드), described as one of the United States’ top tech investors, publicly rebutted prominent investor Jason Calacanis over his assessment of bitcoin’s recent rebound as a “dead cat bounce.”

According to blockchain media outlet U.Today on Sept. 20 local time, Wood wrote on X, “Bitcoin is not a dead cat, Jason. It still has several lives ahead,” taking aim at Calacanis.

Bitcoin briefly slid below $76,000 early in the week before recovering the $80,000 level. Calacanis defined the rebound as temporary and argued that bitcoin has lost its early vitality as it moved through a phase of institutional adoption.

Earlier, Calacanis argued that bitcoin remains unsuitable for everyday payments and smart contracts, and that the user experience is burdensome for ordinary users. He also said institutional adoption turned bitcoin “from punk rock into background music,” and assessed that it ultimately remained in the ordinary role of a store of value. He also likened bitcoin to CDs in the Spotify era and DVDs in the Netflix era.

Michael Saylor (마이클 세일러) also pushed back against Calacanis’ claims alongside Wood. Saylor, the chairman of Strategy’s board, said bitcoin’s market capitalisation was about $1.6 trillion and argued that its role as “digital capital” is itself bitcoin’s core use case. He went on to write, “Preserving wealth across generations is a bigger goal than making the dinner table enjoyable.”

Calacanis’ criticism is also drawing attention because it came while he remains financially exposed to bitcoin. In another post, he wrote that he holds millions of bitcoin and added that it was nothing to worry about.

Calacanis has covered bitcoin since 2011, when it was not yet widely known. He assessed at the time that bitcoin was technically sound and potentially disruptive. He also said in August 2026 that he had personally bought bitcoin for under $100 but had to sell it after a hacking incident. His wife also bought bitcoin at prices of about $100 to $200 or less.